Tool for placing shanked buttons.



PATENTED JUNE. 18. 1907.

No. 857,385- J A. H. GUSHMAN. TOOL FOR PLACING SHANKED BUTTONS.

' APPLICATION FILED DEG-14,1906

' THE mmms PETERS ca, wxsnmanm. D c.

ALBERT H. CUSI-IMAN, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO MORLEY MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, A COR- PORATION OF MAINE.

TOOL FOR PLACING SHANKED BUTTONS.

1'0 a w/wm it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ALBERT H. CUsHMAN, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented new and useful Improvements in Tools for Placing Shanked Buttons, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to tools for placing shanked buttons or nails in the leather or fabric .to be used in covering upholstered cushions, and its object is to provide a hand operated device by which the work of so placing buttons or nails may be facilitated.

In the making of upholstered cushions it ias heretofore been the practice, in preparing the covering material for the subsequent operation of the tufting machine, to spread the leather or other covering material upon a table provided with regularly arranged apertures and then to place the upholstery nails or buttons in the material by pushing the shanks through the material over the apertures in the table, the shanks of the buttons depending through said apertures which are provided for that purpose. This method of placing the buttons has been open tothe ob j ection of slowness, incident to all hand work, and to the further objection that the work is so difficult ,as seriously to injure the thumb and fingers of the operator, requiring the operator periodically to suspend work until the thumb and fingers shall heal.

The object of the present invention is toprovide a tool by which this work may be done faster and more accurately than byhand, and without injury to the hands of the operator. I

In the accompanying drawings which illustrate one embodiment of my invention, Figure 1 shows a side elevation, partly in section, of a tool embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 shows in elevation the front side of said tool with the plunger in elevated position; Fig. 3 shows in elevation the same side of the tool as that shown in Fig. 2 with the plunger in depressed position; Fig. 4 shows the tool, partly in plan View and partly in section on lines 44 of Fig. 1 Fig. 5 shows a vertical section of the lower part of the tool on line 5-5 of Fig. 4; and Fig. 6 is an elevation partly in section of the button chute which is removably attached to the tool.

Specification of Letters Patent.

A li ti fil d December 14, 1906- Serial No. 347,742.

Patented June 18, 1907.

guide 5, preferably made of metal tubing,

which may be square as shown in the drawings, or, ifdesired, may be cylindrical. The

plunger 6, which is also preferably made of metal tubing, reciprocates within the plunger guide 5. The plunger 6 at its lower end is provided with a'plunger face 7 to drive the button shank through the material as hereinafter described. A handle 8 is secured to the plunger 6 in any suitable way, as by the supporting bars 9, 9, and the tubular plunger guide 5 is slotted on the side toward the handle as shown at 10 to admit of the downward movement of the plunger. The plunger is normally yieldingly held at its elevated position as shownin Figs. 1 and 2 by means of the coil spring 11, which is secured at its top to the pin 12 upon the plunger guide, and at its bottom to the pin 13 upon the plunger. The plunger guide 5 is rigidly secured to the stool, by means of the plates 14, 14 screwed thereto, and to the table or frame 1 as shown, said plates also serving as holders for the button chute. A button head holder is provided below the plunger face 7 and consists of a pair of fingers 15, 15 extending across and below the plunger iace. These fingers 15, 15 are carried by the shanks 16, 16 pivoted to the plunger 6 at 17, 17. The shanks 16, 16 flare or diverge at their upper ends as shown at 18, 18 to provide tipping cams which co-operate with the wipers 19, 19

to tip the fingers and release the button head I when the plunger approaches its lowermost position. The wipers 19, 19 maybe formed by inturning the ends of plate 14 as shown. A stop is. also provided to limit the upward movement of the plunger and, as herein shown, may be the edge ofthe wall of the tubing 5 at the upper end of slot 10, said stop being indicated at 20.

The butt on chute for feeding the shanked buttons into position for operation between thev plunger face 7 and the button head holders 15 15, consists of the guide way21 provided on its under side with a slot 22 through which extend the shanks of the buttons. The button chute is made removable in order that when empty it may be replaced by another similar chute filled with buttons, without the necessity of suspending the work of the operator while the chute is being filled with buttons. To make the chute removable, it is provided at its inner end with the bevel face 23, whereby the chute will fit against the plunger guide 5 and cause the slotted button way to deliver the button head into the button head holders 15, 15. Supporting projections, such as the screws 24, are provided on either side of the chute 21 and are held in the notches 25, 25 provided by the projections 26, 26 on the plates 14. At the lower end of the chute 21 a spring stop 27 is provided to prevent the column of buttons in the chute from running out after the chute has been filled and before it is placed in its position in the tool. A spring detent 28 is also provided at the top of the chute to prevent the escape of buttons therefrom. A pin or bar 29 is held between the plates 14, 14 to engage the hooked end 30 of spring 27 and lift the spring out of the path ofthe button heads when the chute is inserted in the tool, thus permitting the buttons to pass downward to the button holders 15, 15 below the plunger face.

The operation of the device is as follows: The chute 21 is filled with shanked buttons B, the heads I) of the buttons being pressed past the spring detent 28 which .prevents their escape in that direction, and the shanks b of the buttons depending through the slot 22. The spring detent 27 at the lower end of the chute prevents the escape of the colunm of buttons in that direction until the chute shall be placed in the tool. The chute having thus been filled is placed in the tool by inserting the lower end 23 in the aperture of the table or frame 1 provided therefor; the upper end of the chute is then swung downward until the supports 24 enter the notches 25, whereupon the chute is in operative position, the spring detent 27 being lifted out of the path of the button heads b by the hook 30 and pin 29 as the chute is swung downward. The button heads are thus released and the column of buttons move downward until the foremost button occupies the position shown by B in Fig. 5, the head of which button is below the plunger face 7 and is supported by the button head holders 15, 15. The tool is then moved by the handle 8 until the button B is in position above the point where the button is to be placed in the material. A pointer or finder 31 is provided on the under side of the stool by means of which the operator can approximate very closely the exact spot where the button is to be set. In the initial downward movement of the plunger the shank of the button will be forced through the material M (Fig. 3), the wipers 19, 19 serving to hold the button head holders 15, 15 in position to hold the button head and prevent the button head holders from opening or tipping until the tipping cams 18, 18 engage with the wipers 19, 19. When cams 18, 18 engage wipers 19, 19, the plunger will be approaching its lowermost position, and the continued downward movement of the plunger will cause the button shank to be forced through the material M up to the button head, and simultaneously, the tipping cams 18, 18 co-operating with the wipers 19, 19 will throw the fingers 15, 15 apart to release the button head. "When the button has been placed as described, the downward push on handle 8 is released and the spring 11 causes the plunger to return again to the position shown in Figs. 1 and 2, whereupon the next succeeding button in the button chute will fall into position beneath the plunger face and supported by its head by the fingers 15, 15 to be placed in the material as above described. The operation is then repeated until all the buttons in the chute have been used, whereupon the button chute may be removed by swinging its outer end upward until the supports 24 are lifted out of the slots 25, and the chute removed by withdrawing it longitudinally, to be refilled or to be replaced by another similar chute filled with buttons.

It will be seen that handle 8 not only serves to operate the plunger, but also co- 0 erates with stop 20 on the plunger guide to li t and carry the tool.

Instead of pointer 31 the front leg 2 may be used as a guide or spacer to place the button in its proper position, by having it at the same distance from the delivery point of the plunger as the desired distance between two of the buttons. After one button has been placed, each succeeding button in the row can then be properly spaced by putting the front leg against the button just previously placed, thus bringing the button next to be inserted into its true position. When the front leg is thus used as a guide it is preferably made adjustable forward and back- Wardupon the frame 1 as shown in Fig. 5, by providing a slot 32 and screw 33 movable in the slot to hold the leg at any desired position within its range of movement. The guide leg 2 may then be adjusted to space the buttons at the distances called forby the work in hand.

While I have shown my button placing device as contained in a hand operated tool, it will be understood that it-is adaptable to a power machine in which, instead of the frame or stool 1, suitable for a single button placing mechanism, a larger frame could be used, on which a number of button placing mechanisms could be mounted to work in unison.

I claim: v

1. In a tool for placing shanked buttons, the combination of a stool, aplunger guide mounted on the stool, a plunger to reciprocate therein, a button head holder movably secured to and carried by.the plunger and normally held below the plunger face, and means automatically to move the button head holder to withdraw it from a button head and from below the plunger face when the plunger approaches its lowermost posi tion.

2. In a tool for lacing shanked buttons, the combination of a stool, a plunger guide mounted on the stool, a plunger to reciprocate therein, a button head holder consisting of a pair of fingers extending across the plunger face below thesaine, pivoted on the plunger, and provided with tipping cams, and wipers to engage said cams and tipthe fingers to release a buttonhead as the plunger approaches its lowermost position.

3. In a tool for placing shanked buttons, the combination of a stool, a plunger guide mounted on the stool, a plunger to reciprocate therein, a button head holder consisting of a pair of fingers extending across and below the plunger face, shanks carrying said fingers pivoted on the plunger, and cams on the shanks to tip them, wipers to guide and hold said shanks from tipping during the initial movementof the plunger, and to engage the cams to tip the shanks and attached fingers to release a button head as the plunge approaches its lowermost position.

4. In a tool for placing shanked buttons, the combination of a stool, a plunger guide mounted on the stool, a plunger to reciprocate therein, a button head holder under the plunger face, means to withdraw the holder from the button, and a depressing handle rigidly attached to the plunger, and co-operating with the plunger guide to lift and carry the tool.

5. In a tool for placing shanked buttons, the combination of a stool, a plunger guide mounted thereon, a plunger to reciprocate therein, a button head holder under the plunger face movably secured to and carried by the plunger, means automatically to with- -draw the holder from a button head and from below the plunger face when the plunger approaches its lowermost position, and a pointer secured to the stool and terminating close to the delivery point of the plunger.

6. In a tool for placing shanked buttons, the combination of a stool, a plunger guide mounted on the stool, a plunger to recipro cate therein, a button head holder under the plunger face, means to withdraw the holder from a button, an elevating spring for the plunger, a stop on the plunger guide, and a depressing handle rigidly secured to the plunger, said handle co-operating with said stop on the plunger guide to lift and carry the tool.

7. In a device of the character described for placing shanked buttons, in combination with the main support and plunger guide, of a pair of supporting brackets rigidly secured to the plunger guide and the main support at either side of the plunger guide, each provided with a slot open on its upper side, a button chute removably supported by said slots by means of a pair of supporting studs,

a stop in the lower part of the chute and a pin held between said brackets to engage the stop to removeit from the chute channel when the chute is placed in position between the brackets.

8. A tool for placing buttons, comprising a stool, a plunger guide mounted on the stool, a plunger to reciprocate therein, an operating handle for the plunger, a spring normally holding the plunger in its elevated po sition, a pair of fingers extending across and below the plunger face, shanks carrying said fingers pivoted to the plunger, cams on the shanks, wipers to guide and hold the shanks from tipping during the initial movement of the plunger and to engage the cams to tip the shanks and open the fingers as the plunger approachesits lowermost position, a pointer secured to the stool and terminating near the delivery point of the plunger, and a button chute to deliver the buttons to said fingers.

9. In a tool for placing shanked buttons, the combination of a stool, a plunger guide mounted on the stool, a plunger to reciprocate therein, a button head holder below the plunger face, and means to Withdraw the holder from a button, the stool being provided with an adjustable leg adapted to serve as a guide for spacing the buttons.

10. A device for placing shanked buttons, comprising a support, a plunger guide thereon, a plunger to reciprocate in the plunger guide, a buttonhead holder movably secured below and carried by the plunger and normally held below the plunger face, and means automatically to move the button head holder to withdraw it from a button head and from below the plunger face when the plunger approaches its lowermost position.

Signed by me at Chicago, Illinois, this sixth (6th) day of December, 1906.

ALBERT H. GUSHMAN.

v Witnesses:

ADDISON G. FAY, EMIL H. LYBERG. 

